Tag Archives: history

This has nothing to do with falconry, but I don’t keep any other blogs or otherwise have an outlet for this information so I’ll put it here.

I spend a lot of time at work when I’m sorting insect trap catch or working on steampunk insects at home. To fill the audio void I’ve started listening to podcasts. I have three to recommend today:

Hardcore History – Dan Carlin is not a historian but rather a fan of history. He takes an event or story, reads as much as he can about it from historians and primary accounts, and then boils it all down into what he thinks is the most accepted or probably account. Podcasts can range from 1.5 to over 4 hours, and some events, such as the fall of Rome or the rise and splitting of the Mongol empire, span multiple podcasts. I absolutely love his style of story telling, the fantastic amount of detail he puts into each podcast, and the events he thinks are worth covering. My favorite, and from what I can tell one of the fan favorites, is his account of the Mongol empire, Wrath of the Khans. Some of the podcasts are free and some you have to pay for. I admittedly haven’t paid for any podcasts yet, though I’m planning on it as soon as I’m done buying supplies for the mews I’m building. The only downside is that he only puts out a new podcast every few months. I can’t blame him, given the amount of reading and research that goes into each episode, but now that I’ve listened to everythign that’s free it’s frustrating to sit here without new shows. I’m seriously considering listening to Wrath of the Khans again to pick up details I missed the first time through.

The Cromcast – I have to confess upfront that I’m biased for this podcast because I know the guys who are making it. That being said, I’d listen to it even if I didn’t. The Cromcast is a weird fiction podcast that is currently going through Robert E. Howard‘s Conan the Barbarian (e.g., Conan the Cimmerian) in the order the stories were published. They typically talk their way through a story each week, discussing the plot, what they liked and didn’t like, how the story relates to the real world (such as Howard using the names of gods from real civilizations, such as the Egyptian god Set), influences they see on Howard through his writing, and how other fans have recieved the story. They also provide a bit of background, such as when the story was published, and sometimes get off on tangents, such as comics and other nerdtastic things. They’re only 7 episodes in, with new episodes coming out every two weeks or so. Episodes are generally around an hour and a half, though that’s mostly because that’s about how long it takes them to cover what they want to say and not a hard line. Did I mention they’re fueled by bourbon?

Breaking Bio – Breaking Bio is a biology podcast cohosted by Morgan Jackson, a PhD student at the University of Guelph in Canada, Steven Hamblin, a postdoc at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Hedi Smith, a postdoc at the University of Texas at Austin, BugGirl, from various undisclosed locations in the eastern US, and various other cohosts. They typically have a guest (or two) on the podcast and interview them about their current research and interests as far as biology/ecology/systematics goes. I know what you’re thinking, but it is really entertaining and they generally talk at a level that even nonscientists can understand. The hosts are from very different background within science and while one may understand what the guest does there’s a good chance that the others don’t. And even if they do they’ll often ask the guest to explain whatever they’re talking about for the listeners. They’ve has guests on to talk about fly/flower interactions in South Africa, crowdfunding science and science projects, squid sex, zombie ants and World War Z, and that’s just what they’ve covered since June. They have 43 episodes up currently and get a new one out every week or two. The shows began freeform in length (usually around an hour, but often closer to two) but are now limited to 30 minutes. If you have any interest in science in general this is great to listen to.